Interesting.
Perhaps one would appreciate this more fully if one were familiar with the authors work.

Dazzled and blown away by the outstanding blurb and summary of Getting to Know Death by Gail Godwin, I requested this ARC from NetGalley. I was unfortunately, neither dazzled nor blown away.

Getting to Know Death was an interesting "meditation", as these meandering, repetitive, loosely connected sets of stories seem to be called. I almost stopped reading it more than once and it's a short book! It also seemed to get progressively more strange the further I read, making me wish I *had* stopped reading.

Getting To Know Dearth is an introspective look into the mind of a writer on the topic of death, but in this case, I think I'll pass.


Thanks to NetGalley, Publishers and Author for access to an Advanced Reader's Copy. All opinions are my own.

I've read at least one other of Godwin's works, but this one fell flat. It sounded like the random literary meanderings of an elderly woman teetering on the brink of death, with an obvious Christian bent.

Engaging, insightful, and important. A recommended purchase for most nonfiction collections, particularly where death and grief titles are popular.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for the ARC!

"Getting to Know Death" is a muted but mesmerizing reflection on the final years of a life.

The book is characterized by a kind of good-humored grief as Gail Godwin recounts the many frustrations of aging—a mind that can outpace the body, the people around her recognizing her age before she can, a body that speaks for itself when she would rather it didn’t. She never shies away from the grim reality of nearing death, and the tone remains subdued. Even so, the book itself is never grim because Godwin refuses to leave the moment she is in. There are many reflections on the past, but they serve only to deepen her occupancy in the present.

The author entertains the anxieties of mortality, allowing them to interrupt narrative flow in much the same way that your grandparents talk about their friends dying, but she always anchors these sections to the significance of the grief. It’s hard enough to live—even harder to keep living without others, as so much of a person’s selfhood is defined by their relationships. Throughout the book, Godwin keeps a running list of everyone she outlives. We see her name alongside those of her friends, paired with birth and death dates, Godwin remaining an unclosed bracket.

As such, "Getting to Know Death" is primarily concerned with this: What does it mean for a life to be open-ended when time is no longer in front of it? It’s an unanswerable yet unavoidable question, and Godwin graciously invites readers into her journey deep into its center.

I have always enjoyed Gail Godwins novels and as I began reading Getting to Know Death I was completely swept into her thoughts on aging and life.Following an accident in her garden her independent life changes and she shares her recovery her life changes.So thoughtful so moving.so real. #netgalley #bloomsbury

Because I love Gail Godwin's fiction, I felt compelled to read this meditation. I was not disappointed. "Getting to Know Death" is beautifully written, engaging, and insightful without being sentimental. It begins with a life-changing accident and closes expecting her eighty-sixth birthday. If Godwin chooses to write a meditation on each of her years following this one, I will gladly read them all. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
#GettingtoKnowDeath #NetGalley

While reading “Getting to Know Death”, A Meditation….(a book I knew I wanted to read instantly ‘especially’ because Gail Godwin wrote it)…..
I couldn’t help but think of my own family and friends, who have died in just these past four years—since Covid. I hadn’t experienced so much personal loss from death. (I’ll be 72 soon)…. since I was a child. My father died when I was four, followed by both grandparents and my uncle by the time I was seven.
Facing one’s own mortality is scary—at least I think so. And it’s true that the young look forward and the old look back…..but in this book — Gail showed me a way of looking back and forward at the same time.

Having read Godwin’s books: “Flora”, “Evensong”,
“Old Lovegood Girls”, “Unfinished Desires”,
“Grief Cottage”, and “Publishing” ….its fair to say that I’m a fan of Gail’s work. Her characters always feel so human, so real. So it didn’t surprise me that this very personal book, vividly brought herself to life. I love her more.

This is beautifully written — intelligent — emotionally wise - and an inside look at how a sudden tragic accident affects us…..affected Gail.
She captured the soul and spirit of life, family, friendships, new and old friendships, cherished memories, passions, writing, (poems are included), book touring, hiking, great love, personal history, admiration for other authors, love, loss, death, grief, also contentment.
Stories are weaved together depicting choices and challenges in her early life and present life.

A treasure…. honesty, vulnerability, and strength shine throughout.
And….if you get a craving for a slice of almond cake laced with rhubarb, don’t be surprised.

“Soon it will be one year since I went out to water the little dogwood and fell on the gravel and broke my neck. Twelve days after that, I will celebrate my eighty-sixth birthday”.


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